Fugitive U.S. Polygamist Charged With Triple Murder In Mexico

CHIHUAHUA, MEXICO — An American polygamist who went on the run 15 years ago after being accused of child sex crimes in Arizona has been caught in Mexico after authorities there linked him to a triple homicide.

Orson William Black, 56, was turned over to United States Customs and Border Protection officers on Wednesday after the Mennonite compound where he and 26 other American citizens had been living illegally in Chihuahua was raided.

Mexican authorities have said that they suspect Black is responsible for the murder of three American citizens, according to CBP spokesman Ruben Jauregui.

The victims have been identified as Robert W. B., 19; Jesse L. B., 23; and 15-year-old Michael B.

The three victims were found on September 10 outside Rancho Negro near the Mennonite community where Black lived, officials said. It is unclear whether any of them were related to Black.

Black is currently being held in El Paso, Texas.

He fled to Mexico in 2003 shortly after he was charged with sexual conduct with a minor and conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor in Mohave County, Arizona, according to a federal arrest warrant. The charges reportedly involved two teenage girls that Black had taken as “wives.”

Bizarrely, during the raid, officials also seized 65 bodies or heads of preserved exotic animals from various countries, including Mexico, such as zebras, buffaloes, a lion, and red foxes. Mexican authorities have also charged Black with human trafficking and possession of wildlife species, the state’s attorney general office said.